1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to pet litter boxes and is specifically directed to a disposable litter box containing a supply of granular litter.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known to use litter boxes containing granular litter for pets confined to an indoor environment. Typically, the granular litter includes odor absorbing materials and is often perfumed or scented to camouflage the soiled litter odor. In most cases, it is necessary for the pet owner to clean out the litter box by scooping or dumping the litter into a trash container or the like for proper disposal. This is a messy, unsanitary and undesirable chore.
In the past, disposable litter boxes have been developed, as shown, by way of example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,576 issued to David F. James on Jan. 2, 1990. As there shown, the litter box is a paper board container which is adapted to be folded into a closed container for point of sale display and transporting the litter to the point of use. The box may then be unfolded to form a typical litter box for a cat or the like. Upon completion of use, the box then may be refolded for disposal, with the soiled litter retained in the box.
While the litter box disclosed in the James patent does provide a disposable container, it has several features which make it unattractive for widespread acceptance by pet owners. Specifically, due to the configuration of the box, it is difficult to open and close the box with the litter in place. A second disadvantage is that the exterior perimeter of the opened box is not flat, and is not shaped in the manner consistent with litter boxes which pets are normally used to using. This can cause difficulty in training the pet to use the disposable type litter box.
An additional disadvantage to the James box is the method of closing the box which requires various tabs to be inwardly folded and the various panels of the box to be positioned properly to assure proper closure, requiring substantial handling of the box after it has been soiled in order to accomplish disposal.